England, Australia, New Zealand, Spain. With so many places to visit, how does a student choose where to study abroad?
The USC Study Abroad office not only helps you in your decision on where you want to study abroad, but the also guide you in deciding which program best fits.
“The study abroad advisors are here to help you in your choice and find out if study abroad is right for you. We encourage students to talk with us before starting the process,” said Elise Hammonds, the Assistant Director of the Study Abroad office.
The first step in the process is scheduling a meeting with a peer study abroad advisor. These are students who have studied abroad and they can give you insight into what is it really like.
The next step involves making an appointment with a study abroad advisor to talk about location, programs, financial, and classes.
“The second step is important because we help students narrow down where they actually want to go to three countries. We also tell them about the different programs options including the Global Exchange/Direct and the Global Partner programs. Students should talk over everything with mom and dad before making any kind of decision,” Hammonds said.
The Global Exchange/Direct program i sends students to different universities around the world, which can be found on the study abroad Web site. The great thing about the Global Exchange/Direct program is students in-state and out of state receive in-state tuition to USC while abroad.
The Global Partner programs are affiliate programs that offer students opportunities to study abroad at many more locations. These programs can also be found on the study abroad Web site.
“I studied through the Direct Exchange Program in Brisbane, Australia last spring. It was the best decision by far I have ever made. I had the best experiences and almost didn’t want to come back,” Liana Kloss, a second-year public relations student said.
After choosing a program and a location, students must complete an application. If you choose to use a Global Partner program, you need to fill out an application for them as well as for USC.
The application does vary depending on what program you choose. Make sure to stand out because some of the exchange programs are competitive.
“The UK exchange programs are very competitive and so are some of the business schools. Make sure to be interesting and really be personable in the seven questions that you need to answer,” Hammonds said.
Deadlines are very important so make sure to know when certain paper work is due. The deadline for the Global Partner programs is open Nov. 15th. After receiving notification of which program you have been accepted to, there is more paper work that includes financial questions, a meeting with your academic advisor, and two orientations.
“The orientations were helpful because they talked about general knowledge of health and safety as well as how to respect the different cultures,” Kloss said.
Even with the economic crisis, study abroad had seen an increase in the number of applicants. For Spring 2009, there were a total of about 100 applicants with Spring 2010, pullling in about 300 applicants.
“The numbers have increased so much. We believe that it is because students now know about the in-state tuition,” Hammonds said.
With so many choices of location to chose from it is also important that students not rush the process.
“I would really suggest starting early with the process. I started early and I went through a Global Partner and because I started early I ended up being able to get free airfare to study in Spain,” said Emily Keane, a fourth-year international studies student.
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